[UHlVExs7]

This is all from the web site Call To Monotheism

I suggest going to the site for the references and examples of other Hadith.
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Ibn Hajar reconciles this as follows:

ÝãÍÕá ÇáÑæÇíÇÊ ÓÊæä æÓÈÚæä æÊÓÚæä æÊÓÚ æÊÓÚæä æãÇÆÉ , æÇáÌãÚ ÈíäåÇ Ãä ÇáÓÊíä ßä ÍÑÇÆÑ æãÇ ÒÇÏ Úáíåä ßä ÓÑÇÑí Ãæ ÈÇáÚßÓ , æÃãÇ ÇáÓÈÚæä ÝááãÈÇáÛÉ , æÃãÇ ÇáÊÓÚæä æÇáãÇÆÉ Ýßä Ïæä ÇáãÇÆÉ æÝæÞ ÇáÊÓÚíä

The numbers that the narrations state are: "Sixty, seventy, ninety, ninety nine and hundred". The reconciliation between them is as follows. The sixty either refers to his wives or concubines. The seventy is a form of exaggeration. As for ninety and hundred, they have not gone above this. It is below hundred and above ninety (tis'een). (Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, Fathul Bari, Kitab: Ahaadeeth Al Anbiyaa', Bab: Qawl Allah Ta'aalaa Wawahabnaa li Daawood Sulaaymaan ni'ma al 'abd inahu, Commentary on Hadith no. 3171, Source)


Imam Nawawi strengthens this point:

åÐÇ ßáå áíÓ ÈãÊÚÇÑÖ áÃäå áíÓ Ýí ÐßÑ ÇáÞáíá äÝí ÇáßËíÑ , æÞÏ ÓÈÞ ÈíÇä åÐÇ ãÑÇÊ , æåæ ãä ãÝåæã ÇáÚÏÏ


None of these narrations contradict one another, because there is no disavowal of many by mentioning the little, and the proof for this has already been mentioned several times and that is that the number is implied. (Imam Nawawi, Sharh Saheeh Muslim, Kitab: Al Aymaan, Bab: Al Istithnaa' Commentary on Hadith no. 3123, Source)


So what is the correct answer? The correct answer is ninety nine.

We explain the number sixty perhaps because the narrator intended to speak about either Solomon's wives or concubines, since the hadith only mentioned "women".

We explain the number seventy because it is a form of exaggeration in the Arabic language.

Imam Suyuti in his commentary states:

Ask forgiveness for them, O Muhammad (s), or do not ask forgiveness for them: this leaves the choice of asking forgiveness, or refraining, up to him; the Prophet (s) said, 'I have been given the choice, and I made it', meaning [the choice] to ask forgiveness, as reported by al-Bukhārī. If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them: it is said that the 'seventy' is intended to express [by hyperbole] a great frequency of asking forgiveness. (Jalal ud-Din Siyuti, Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Commentary on Surah 9:80, Source)


Imam Qurtubi argues the same thing in his commentary by quoting well known Arabic expressions (showing that people use the number seventy when they want to exaggerate or imply a higher number) and by appealing to 69:32 as an example.

We explain the number ninety when it is said as tis'oon and not as tis'een as meaning that the number is ninety something.

We explain the number 100 because the narrator felt that it is a more completely adjusted number, thus he rounded it to hundred.

Thus, the narrators depending on the way they speak to others decided to express themselves in different ways. That is all.
... ONCE AGAIN THIS IS NOT FROM ME/MY WORKS THE ARTICLE IS FOUND AT Call To Monotheism WED SITE.

EDIT: Today at Jummah there were several interesting points made by the Imam, some of which are...

1. Just because a Hadith is translated in the language we speak does not mean we understand it.
2. Just because we understand Arabic does not mean we understand the Hadith.
3. Today people who have little knowledge talk about Hadith talk about them with out understanding. He said that the Ulama have found ninety nine lessons just from the hadith of jibreel. (I'm not sure if he meant a lot or 99 actual lessons.)
4. We, i.e. people who do not have knowledge, at best can only say that a Hadith is from this book and tell the people if the Ulama have said if it was Sahih or not.
5. Meaning does not always equate to the lessons behind a Hadith, there are other factors that have to be looked at too.

The list is from my memory so any mistakes are from me, all good is from the blessings of Allah.